Posted tagged ‘big picture’

I finally finished reading through the Haydock Bible
about a month ago–
which means I plowed through the book of Revelation again.

Revelation is generally been a book I’ve avoided.
It’s so hard to understand, so symbolic, so confusing…
and it’s about the end of time,
which I can’t predict anyway
& isn’t likely to happen in my lifetime.
People get all sorts of strange ideas from Revelation…

Every other time I’ve read it,
I’ve gotten bogged down in the end-times speculation,
the sensationalism & generally been frustrated.

I just didn’t “get it.”

This time I decided to forget trying to “figure it out”
to take a step back and just look at the big picture.

We have scenes in Heaven & on earth.
Which looks better?
Heaven!
Earth looks pretty bad.

That’s a good start!

We have scenes of good and evil.
Which are more appealing?
Good, of course, although I’m noticing that everybody suffers.
It’s just that the suffering of the good is temporary
& followed by eternal glory,
while the suffering of the evil starts on earth
& continues forever
(more motivation to aim for Heaven!).

Then I put on my prince’s Michael Card cd “Unveiled Hope,”
which is based on Revelation,
and was struck by the drama.

Hm…

All this is reminding me of childrens’ stories:
the villain and hero (so obviously black and white!), the monsters,
the noble struggle and unexpected success (the Lamb wins?!),
the bridegroom and bride, the drama,
the vivid color, the happy ending…
all written by St. John, the apostle
who kept referring to his readers as “little children”
(I John 2:1, 12, 18, 28; 3:7, 18; 4:4; 5:21),
as a message from the One Who said,

Amen I say to you, unless you be converted,
and become as little children,
you shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven
-Matthew 18:3

I’ve been coming at this all wrong!

I need to scrap the mind of “the scholar”
and come to this book with the mind of a child…
but that doesn’t mean I stop asking questions!
Children (you parents know this!)
ask LOTS of questions!

And from my study of the Catechism (paragraphs 115-118),
I know some good questions to ask about any verse of Scripture
(after, of course, looking into its literal meaning):

What does this tell me about Jesus?
What does this tell me about how I should live (morality)?
What does this tell me about my destiny?

I’ve already started answering those!

I started to catch a vision of Revelation
as a sort of “spiritual lens”
through which to look at everything that happens here on earth,
to catch God’s celestial vision of salvation history
from beginning to end,
blowing away the darkness that covers the earth (see Isaiah 60:2),
destroying

the veil that veils all peoples;
the web that is woven over all nations
-Isaiah 25:7

revealing

The mystery which hath been hidden
from ages and generations,
but now is made manifest to His saints
-Colossians 1:26

The veil has been torn (Matthew 27:51).

I also noted
(as I never had before!)
that the book opens and closeswith a blessing for the one who reads and obeys it!
(Revelation 1:3, 22:6)
I know of no other book of Sacred Scripture that does that.
And God says He’s sending this message
because time running out–
we need this now.

I’ve been in Revelation ever since
and expect to be absorbing it for a good long time!

Like this:

The Continuing Conversion of a Catholic Housewife

I like being in safe, cozy places...like under tables!...and there's no better table to be under than the Table of the Word and of the Sacraments, close to our Lord. Periodically He lets tidbits fall that are just too good to keep to myself. That's what these posts are. Any mistakes and misunderstandings are mine. The good stuff is His!
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